Bellingham parents scrutinize school redistricting plan

Wednesday

Jun 18, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Matt TotaDaily News Staff

BELLINGHAM — While school officials tried to frame redistricting as a path toward "a successful tomorrow," parents expressed mixed feelings.The School Committee invited the public to discuss the redistricting recommendations Tuesday night at the middle school. More than 150 people, mostly parents, sat in a humid auditorium as Superintendent Edward Fleury described the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed restructuring.School officials say enrollment is expected to decrease significantly in the next decade and many of the district's buildings are under capacity.The committee will vote next week on whether to implement the plan, which if approved would be effective September 2015.The fourth grade would join the fifth grade at the middle school under an expanded elementary-level program – separate from the sixth and seventh grades – and the eighth grade is to attend the high school.In addition, Clara Macy Elementary School would close, leaving two elementary schools open in the district, and the building turned over to the town. "Any decision as to what we do with that building will have to come back to Town Meeting," Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael Connor said during the meeting.Condensing the elementary schools allows instructors there to share their "best practices and strategies" more so than they do now across three different buildings, Fleury said. Fifth graders, he said, will flourish in an elementary school setting.Also, the district will save money, he said. Given the maintenance and utility costs at Macy and changes to staffing at the elementary and middle schools, he estimated more than $450,000 of savings. And the district could save thousands in transportation costs by reducing its fleet of buses.The challenges brought about by redistricting include having to develop new schedules for the schools, plan for the increased number of students at the high school and structure the revamped middle school.Parents were mainly concerned that closing a neighborhood school would affect busing. The plan calls for new transportation fees that force some parents to pay $180 per year.They questioned the fate of Macy teachers in 2015 and whether redistricting was perhaps coming too soon."I think we probably all have the same thought process: that change can be good, it just has to be done the right way," said Mary Cunningham, whose son attends Macy. "And you can’t go back. We’re all residents of the town, and we all have to stand by our schools."One parent said closing Macy could cause overcrowding at the other two elementary schools, which officials assured her would not happen. She then said that the money saved as a result of redistricting would go into padding the town’s coffers.No, Fleury said; it will be used to fund programs and services.Bellingham High School Principal Peter Marano addressed the challenge of having to squeeze an entire grade into the building, telling parents that all of the teachers would have their own rooms."The big question is: Can I create a wing in my school just for the 8th grade?" Marano said.If Macy closes, parents will know at least 10 months before the start of the 2015-2016 school year which of the two remaining elementary schools their children will attend.The discussion continued after press time.Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com.